Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Hamburger Buns

Tuesday, April 17, 2007How odd that my first bread-baking foray in my new Wolf oven would be the mundane hamburger bun. But I've been craving a simple hamburger, and it occurred to me that maybe I could make the best hamburger ever if I had fresh, homemade buns. But, although I had high hopes for these--they smelled terrific coming out of the oven--I have to admit it was not the best hamburger ever.If Rose had decided to include a recipe for a hamburger bun, she would have tried it a few dozen times until she had it perfected, and then I would have the benefit of her experiments. I'm not willing to do that, but if I were, here are a few things I'd do. This recipe made a very soft bun. I would check out some ciabatta recipes to see if I could adapt one of those. I think it would stand up to a hamburger better and wouldn't squish so readily. I would at least use bread flour instead of all-purpose. I deliberately didn't grill the buns because I wanted to taste them in their unsullied state. But they needed grilling. Buttering and grilling would be even better. They are cute, though.

1. Mix butter, egg, flour, sugar, and yeast with dough hook until thorougohly blended.2. Add salt and gradually add water.3. Knead for about five minutes (10 if kneading by hand).4. Put dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about an hour.5. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape each piece as if shaping a boule. Place them on baking sheet lined with parchment, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.6. Brush egg yolk glaze on buns, and sprinkle with sesame seed.7. Put in preheated 375-degree oven.8. Bake about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.9. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

12 comments:

Oh, they do look very handsome and perky. Did you use the proofing bit in the new oven?Your kitchen needs some Rose bread magic!Cinnamon Crumb Surprise? Imagine the wonderful aroma in your new kitchen?Then make some fresh ground coffee. Then invite your wonderful neighbors. Gorgeous!

"I've sometimes made homemade hamburger buns but not with great results. Since I've gotten sold on my Bread Bible, I searched the index and then your blog for a recipe. This basic HK recipe showed up, but I'd been imagining a somewhat richer bread. Not as rich as brioche! Any suggestions? I thought of just substituting milk for the water in this recipe, but I'm not sure what that will do. As always, thank you for your advice and recipes!"

Posted by: zlast | February 4, 2007 9:24 AM

"too late for this superbowl dinner but i adore hamburger buns made with the soft white sandwich loaf--the sweet potato version in particular bc it makes them so golden. i use these for crab cakes sandwiches in summer as well.just this week made hamburgers of kobe beef on them--so little flavor from the meat--they weren't worthy of the rolls!"

Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 4, 2007 5:08 PM

"Thank you for your response! I used the HK recipe with the oil and then substituted an egg for part of the water and only used 1 cup water. I needed a couple of extra tablespoons flour to get the dough firm enough to handle. I then used your egg white glaze recipe from the BB and sprinkled on some sesame seeds right before baking. The rolls were picture perfect and delicious. "

.........

In my mental baking, the difference of mild honey and the addition of oil would be right. What do you think?

However, I must admit that after Melinda mentionned Cinnamon Crumb Surpise with freshly ground coffee, that is way more tempting than thinking about hamburger buns. That's what's now in my head!!!! I think I can smell it! Ahhhhh!!!!!

Unpacking is so messy... packing is messy... renovating is messy, though I must say, your site was amazingly clean and tidy for most of the time.

But we will all wait til you have your kitchen organized and everything put away, so beautifully that you can buy flowers for your kitchen and step back and admire its clean lines, its beauty, and its functionality.

And then, please, post pictures of the light fixture with the globes in, the windows with their sheepy things (I'll never remember the right name now), the door knobs, the finished tile behind the stove, the revealed oven, and, oh yes, that faucet with water coming out!

And tell us what you think of the oven? of the new cooktop? (give us a review of them each!) of the expanded cupboard space? of sitting in the kitchen with the light streaming in on that granite counter.

It will be done. You will get there. It will serve you as it is supposed to. And give you quiet joy as you work.

Marissa,Thank you so much for searching for Rose's version of hamburger buns! The sweet potato idea sounds excellent. And thanks for your words of encouragement--we're still at the stage of tying up loose ends. But as soon as they're all tied up, I'll post pictures of the finished kitchen. As for the faucet--yes, it works perfectly. Maybe one day Jim will explain how that happened.

Jim is very embarrassed about the faucet and made a complete fool of himself by getting very angry at it while it worked perfectly the whole time. He did not know how the faucet worked and was vigorously changing the temperature by moving the handle back and forth and getting so mad at the absence of flowing water that he did not see that all he had to do was move the handle sideways. Jim is not good at thinking outside the box. He is sorry about the whole thing and refuses to discuss it.

Melinda,I haven't read the instructions yet so I don't know how to use the proofing cycle. One day soon I'll discover everything my miracle oven can do! In fact, I'd better discover it soon because we plan to have a kitchen-warming open house for the neighbors next weekend.

Jim has a very bad case of third person. That is really funny!I can't believe you haven't read the instructions on the Wolf. Bad owner, bad! (But then, I always try to do it first time without reading the instructions too. ie. my beautiful Bernina sewing machine.Glad the kitchen warming is happening. It needs some alcohol and bread.

You two are fun and genuine and I love it! Okay, I am exhausted from ripping out carpet in our new home today but I had to write a comment. When I am tired I tend to write like an elementary schooler...but I stand by fun and genuine.

By "you guys" I mean you and Jim...by fun, I mean everytime I read your blog I find myself chuckling (same with reading Jim's comments)...by genuine, I mean I love your honesty about your new kitchen.

I hate reading the manuals too, but do keep it close because it will be fun to refer to later. I agree with Melinda it is time for the kitchen to be "warmed" with food, alcohol and more friends!

Your analogy of the "renting a condo and cooking in it..." is perfect, it isn't the "old familiar". But...it will be, and I can't wait for that to begin to happen...good luck and thanks for sharing!

Melinda and Stacey,I've read the instructions--they're actually quite helpful. In a week or two I plan to read the instructions for my new cooktop, and then, in a month or two, maybe I'll read the microwave instructions. One can't rush into these things.